Do parents support professional mandatory reporting of child maltreatment? A survey of parents with young children

Abstract

Mandatory reporting (MR) of child maltreatment (CM) has been implemented in many countries, but parents' views on the law are unknown. Hong Kong has very low CM reporting rates and is likely to legislate professional MR soon. To describe the rate of Hong Kong parents with young children who support professional MR, identify factors that predict their support of MR and explore their reasons for or against MR. A convenience sample of 172 Hong Kong parents with children aged under 5 years self-administered an online survey. A cross-sectional online survey examined whether parents support MR. Sociodemographic characteristics, beliefs about child protection and reasons for or against the legislation of MR were assessed using multiple logistic regression and directed content analysis. A majority of parents (n = 127, 73.8%) supported professional MR, which was associated with gender (males are less likely to support MR; OR = 0.24, p = 0.025, 95% CI = 0.066–0.836), being employed (OR = 6.11, p = 0.020, 95% CI = 1.33–28.1) and reporting higher perceived behavioural control of professionals (OR = 1.42, p = 0.001, 95% CI = 1.17–1.72) and subjective norm (OR = 1.75, p = 0.002, 95% CI = 1.22–2.50). Reasons to support MR included child safety and professional competence and responsibility. Reasons against MR included mistrust, violation of parental autonomy, increase in unsubstantiated cases and shifting the responsibility to professionals. Most participants supported professional MR of CM. Parental concerns indicate that public education and competency training for professionals are essential before enactment of MR law to ensure such policy will take effect as intended.